{"id":277,"date":"2026-06-20T22:43:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T22:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=277"},"modified":"2026-06-20T22:43:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T22:43:23","slug":"espaillat-avila-chevalier-spar-over-gentrification-in-harlem-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=277","title":{"rendered":"Espaillat, Avila Chevalier spar over gentrification in Harlem church"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

At a National Action Network rally led by the Rev. Al Sharpton on Saturday, both congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier and Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the five-term incumbent she is trying to unseat, emphasized the need for Black and Dominican American communities to unite against a common enemy. But the two candidates had very different ideas of who that enemy was.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more AIPAC is helping boost Espaillat against DSA challenge<\/a><\/p>\n

For Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist, the enemy was those who weaponize identity to divide marginalized groups and prevent them from realizing their common material interests. For Espaillat, the enemy was the \u201cgentrifiers\u201d who make up Avila Chevalier\u2019s base.<\/p>\n

Avila Chevalier invoked her own Afro-Dominican identity to make the case that Latino communities in neighborhoods like Washington Heights and Black communities in neighborhoods in Harlem were not rivals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have told us that we have to choose, that dignity for one community must come at the expense of another, that this community \u2013 where so many of us carry many identities that you could stack them like dominos \u2013 has to pick a side. I am both Black and Dominican, and I will not apologize for it,\u201d she said, to applause from the congregation of Mother A.M.E. Zion Church in Harlem.<\/p>\n

Avila Chevalier also defended her identity as a transplant who moved to New York City from Florida to attend college at Columbia. \u201cI didn’t have to be born here to belong this way, because this community chose me, and I’m choosing it now,\u201d she said. \u201cI don’t want power over you. I never have. I want power with you, power that lifts every family in Harlem, Washington Heights, in Kingsbridge, power that keeps ICE out of our churches, power that makes rent something you can actually afford.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his own remarks, Espaillat suggested that Avila Chevalier was the cause, not the solution, of rising rents. \u201cWe need to be careful of fair weather friends that come around and say that the rent is too high \u2013 but they’re the ones that are driving up the rent,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are the gentrifiers!\u201d<\/p>\n

Much of Espaillat\u2019s speech was focused on the past \u2013 he repeatedly lavished praise on Sharpton\u2019s record of civil rights work \u2013 and the idea that hard-earned political alliances must endure.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a historic coalition \u2013 a Black, brown, and labor coalition that was first put together by David Dinkins,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is the Al Sharpton coalition. That is the coalition of Harlem and Washington Heights and the Bronx, and we’re going to work together to ensure that coalition stays strong, and that coalition becomes and will continue to be the coalition of the future of this city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Espaillat offered his own vision of a politics that transcends race. He sat alongside Assembly Member Jordan Wright, son of his longtime rival Keith Wright, and even gave him a shout-out during his speech.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will work together, and I\u2019m happy to have (support from) Assemblyman Jordan Wright \u2013 you know, for far too long, we should have been working closer together,\u201d he said, seemingly burying the hatchet between his own Dominican American \u201cSquadriano\u201d and the Black Harlem machine led by the Wrights.<\/p>\n

Read more NYC Council intern fired after launching campaign to pay interns<\/a><\/p>\n

But Espaillat\u2019s vision of cross-racial solidarity is narrower than Avila Chevalier\u2019s: open to long-time residents, but not newcomers. \u201cIt must be in the deep roots of our neighborhoods that the strength and the change must come,\u201d he said. \u201cIt cannot be parachuted in the middle of the night by fair weather friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Espaillat, Jordan Wright tailored his message to people who have been in the neighborhood for decades. \u201cThere\u2019s people in this room \u2013 in this room, I\u2019m certain \u2013 that have voted for my grandfather, my father, my uncle and now myself,\u201d Wright said. I don\u2019t view that as a bad thing. I view it as we know our community, and we\u2019re here to keep on doing the work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listening to their speeches, it was easy to see why both Espaillat and Wright endorsed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo over Zohran Mamdani in last year\u2019s mayoral primary election. Cuomo was a known quantity among older voters in the community, while Mamdani was the candidate of the newcomers. Unfortunately for Espaillat, Mamdani won the district, beating Cuomo by 13 points in the first round of voting.<\/p>\n

Now the mayor of New York City, Mamdani was a guest of honor at Mother A.M.E. Zion Church on Saturday and encouraged the audience to support Avila Chevalier in the June 23 Democratic primary the way they once supported him.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday I ask you to remember the chance that you took on me, to remember the faith you once showed, to remember that before a movement becomes obvious, it is often called unrealistic, before a leader becomes established, they are called inexperienced, before change becomes popular, it is called impossible,\u201d he said, before turning the microphone over to Avila Chevalier.<\/p>\n

Mamdani didn\u2019t stay at Mother A.M.E. Zion for long. He quietly left after Avila Chevalier finished her speech and didn\u2019t stick around to hear Espaillat\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n

Before heading up to Harlem, Mamdani voted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, his new early voting location now that he\u2019s living in Gracie Mansion. As an Upper East Sider, the mayor would have had only two races on his ballot: the race for comptroller and the congressional primary to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He hasn\u2019t endorsed in either race, and he declined to say whom he voted for. \u201cI\u2019m going to be keeping my vote in this race between myself, the ballot and that incredible pen that the Board of Elections gives to every voter,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But he did take the opportunity to talk up the congressional candidates he\u2019s endorsed in other districts around the city, including Avila Chevalier. \u201cI do wish that every New Yorker had the chance to vote for Darializa Avila Chevalier, for Claire Valdez, for Brad Lander,\u201d he said, \u201cthree Congressional candidates that I\u2019m so excited to have endorsed who would be incredible partners in the fight to make the country\u2019s most expensive city into one that\u2019s affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more New WFP ad attacks Rajkumar as \u2018Modi\u2019s best friend in Queens\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Rev. Al Sharpton invited the rival congressional candidates to make their cases to the National Action Network on the last weekend before the primary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3],"tags":[9,7],"class_list":["post-277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2026-congressional-midterm-elections","category-new-york-state","tag-2026-congressional-midterm-elections","tag-new-york-state"],"yoast_head":"\nEspaillat, Avila Chevalier spar over gentrification in Harlem church - Business Relocation Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=277\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Espaillat, Avila Chevalier spar over gentrification in Harlem church - Business Relocation Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Rev. Al Sharpton invited the rival congressional candidates to make their cases to the National Action Network on the last weekend before the primary.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=277\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Business Relocation Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-20T22:43:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=277#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=277\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3174a35dc160ba2a2c93ee7892afb9e0\"},\"headline\":\"Espaillat, Avila Chevalier spar over gentrification in Harlem church\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-20T22:43:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=277\"},\"wordCount\":1079,\"commentCount\":0,\"keywords\":[\"2026 congressional midterm elections\",\"New York State\"],\"articleSection\":[\"2026 congressional midterm elections\",\"New York State\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=277#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=277\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=277\",\"name\":\"Espaillat, Avila Chevalier spar over gentrification in Harlem church - Business Relocation Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-20T22:43:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3174a35dc160ba2a2c93ee7892afb9e0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=277#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=277\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=277#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Espaillat, Avila Chevalier spar over gentrification in Harlem church\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Business Relocation Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3174a35dc160ba2a2c93ee7892afb9e0\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Espaillat, Avila Chevalier spar over gentrification in Harlem church - Business Relocation Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=277","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Espaillat, Avila Chevalier spar over gentrification in Harlem church - Business Relocation Digest","og_description":"The Rev. Al Sharpton invited the rival congressional candidates to make their cases to the National Action Network on the last weekend before the primary.","og_url":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=277","og_site_name":"Business Relocation Digest","article_published_time":"2026-06-20T22:43:23+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=277#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=277"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3174a35dc160ba2a2c93ee7892afb9e0"},"headline":"Espaillat, Avila Chevalier spar over gentrification in Harlem church","datePublished":"2026-06-20T22:43:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=277"},"wordCount":1079,"commentCount":0,"keywords":["2026 congressional midterm elections","New York State"],"articleSection":["2026 congressional midterm elections","New York State"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=277#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=277","url":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=277","name":"Espaillat, Avila Chevalier spar over gentrification in Harlem church - Business Relocation Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-06-20T22:43:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3174a35dc160ba2a2c93ee7892afb9e0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=277#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=277"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=277#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Espaillat, Avila Chevalier spar over gentrification in Harlem church"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/","name":"Business Relocation Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3174a35dc160ba2a2c93ee7892afb9e0","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}